Rail anchor



June 17, 1930. c. GLERICSON RAIL ANCHOR Filed June 24, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 17, 1930 BAIL ANCHOR Application filed June 24,

This invention relates to rail anchors for preventing the longitudinal creeping of rails, and more particularly to resilient rail anchors of the one-piece type that are adapted to be sprung into firm gripping engagement with the rail base.

esilient or flexible rail anchors of the onepiece type have been proposed heretofore but diificulty has been experienced in developing a rail anchor that will satisfactorily meet the various requirements that may be imposed upon a rail anchor while in use and while being applied to and removed from a rail.

One of the requirements of a satisfactory rail anchor is that it be so constructed that it can be readily applied to and removed from the rail base and that it be capable of gripping the rail base so firmly that all danger of the anchor working loose on the rail is avoided. Another requirement is that the rail anchor be so constructed that it will not move lengthwise of the rail when subjected to average or normal creepage load thrusts but is capable of gradually absorbing load thrusts of exceptional magnitude temporarily without subjecting the device as a whole to injurious or destructive stresses, and it is highly desirable that the rail anchor be capable of springing back to its ori inal position upon the rail when relieved from the excessive displacing force. It is also important that the rail anchor be inexpensive to manufacture.

The present invention seeks to fulfill these various requirements, and is directed to an extremely simple form of rail anchor that may be readily formed of sheet metal, and consists of a shank adapted to extend across the under face of a rail in abutting engagement therewith and is provided with a strong overhanging jaw at one end and with a laterally extending, slightly resilient arm at its opposite end. One face of the rail anchor shank abuts against the tie and coinstitutes a relatively large tie engaging element which is held firmly against the rail base by the overhanging aw and by the flexible arm that exerts a firm spring gripping action upon the opposite edge of the rail.

One of the features of the present invention resides in a rail anchor having the construc- 1929. Serial No. 3'?3,199.

tion above mentioned which may readily be formed from a bar or sheet metal. Another feature of the invention resides in the construction of the overhanging jaw for holding the shank firmly against the under fac e of the rail, and another feature of the present invention resides in the construction of the slightly resilient, laterally extending arm, and the arrangement of the shoulders which engage the rail edge so that they will facilitate the removal of the rail anchor from the rail.

Other features of the invention and novel combinations of parts in addition to the above will be hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate good practical forms thereof. v i

In the drawings;-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rail anchor constructed in accordance with the present invention and shown as secured to a rail in position to abut against a tie;

Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale is a vertical, sectional view through a portion of the rail base flange showing the engagement of the overhanging aw of the rail anchor with this flange;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the rail anchor blank which has been cut and is ready to be bent into final shape;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the lIElll anchor as formed from the blank of *ig. 3;

Fig.5 is a top plan view of the rail anchor of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through the rail base showing the rail anchor in position to be applied thereto;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but shows the rail anchor in operative engagement with the rail base;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 7 and 1 Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8, but shows a modification of the construction of the overhanging jaw of the rail anchor.

Referring to the drawings, 10 is the wheel engaging portion of a rail of usual construction, 11 is the rail base flange that is connected to the upper portion 10 of the rail by the central upstanding web 12, and the rail substantial distance from the rail edge 14', as

1 rail edge 14. The elevated portion just mentioned of the arm 21 is conveniently hanging jaw 17, which jawisadapted to ex-:

tend inwardly over the rail base flange a will be apparent from the drawing.

The rail anchor forming the subject matr th pre nt i ntio y e e y cut from asheet of steel ofthe desire'd'thick ness to give the blank the configuration shown in Fig. 3, wherein it will be seen that "the upper edge 16 of the shank 15 is formed by providing a relatively long cut lengthwise of the blank intermediate its ends, and this 'cut extends a substantial distance under that portion 18 of the blank disposed at the lefthand end thereof and having the increased width shown. The part 18 of the blank is further cut away by the inclined cut 19 to,

form a clearance space adapted to receive a portion of the rail base flange and to form the flange engaging face of the jaw 17. I I

As previously stated, the jaw 17 serves to hold the upper edge 16 of the shank 15 firmly against the under face of the rail, and in order to accomplish this the jaw 17 is con-. structed so that it will extend inwardly a substantial distance over the rail base flange towards the central web 12, and to insure that this jaw will firmly grip the-inclined upper face 13 of the'rail base at a point well inwardly from the rail edge 14 the flange engaging face 19 of the jaw is preferably formed at a slightly less inclination than the inclined face 13 of the rail base ;,for example, if the inclined face 13 extends at an angle of say 14 to the under face of the rail base flange, then the flange engaging face 19 of the jaw 17 is preferably disposed at an angle of about 11 to the upper edge 16 of the shank 15. As a result of this construction the jaw 17 will exert its greatest gri ping force upon the upper face of the rail flange at a point relatively near the central web 12 of the rail, as will be apparent from Fig. 2, and as this jaw springs upwardly slightly under the clamping'action to "whichit may be subjected it will tend to accommodate the angleof its face 19 to the inclination of the upper face of the rail base flange. It is desirable that the rail anchor shall clear the edge 14 of the rail and to insure this the rail anchor is preferably cut away as indicated at 20 to form the desired clearance space.

The jaw 17 in the. construction shown lies directly over the shank 15 so that the construction of the rail anchor so far described illustrated in the drawing may be formed by punching or cutting the sheet metal without any bending operations. The shank 15 is provided at its opposite end from that of the jaw 17 witha laterally extending arm 21 and this jaw is conveniently formed by cutting the righthand end portion of the blank as shown in Fig. 3-and then bending this end portion of the blank laterally to form the arcuate arm 21. The end portion of the arm 21 preferably extends upwardly a substantial distance above the upper edge 16 of the shank so that the outer end 22 of the arm 21 may abut firmly against the formed. by providing the upper face of'the arm.21 with the upwardly inclined surface 23 which may extend from the shoulder 24, formed at an end of thecut 16, to the outer end of the blank, as will be Fig. 3.

It is contemplated that when the rail apparent from anchor of the present/invention is secured to a rail it will extend across the under face of the rail at substantially right angles to the I longitudinal axis of the rail so that practically an entire face of the shank 15 may rest firmly against the tie 25, as will be apparent from Fig. .8, and the shoulder 24 is preferably so positioned that when the rail 1 anchor is secured to a rail both this shoulder I and the outer end 22 of the resilient arm 21 will abut firmly against'an edge14 of the rail.

When it is desired to apply the rail anchor to a rail it may be placed by hand in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 6', whereupon the jaw 17 is forced into firm grip-ping engagement with the rail base flange by striking upon the left-hand end of the anchor viewing Fig. 6 with a spike mawl or the like, while at the same time a prying action may beexerted upon the opposite end portion of the rail anchor by. inserting the small end of a track bar or wrench in the space between the inner curved face of J the arcuate arm 21 and the rail edge 14, to thereby force the rail anchor transversely of the rail until the shoulder 24 and outer end of the arm 21 will clear the under face of the rail and move upwardly into abutting en gagement with the "rail edge under the upward pressure which is being imparted to the shank 15 by the overhanging aw 17. s It will be seen from the construction just described that when the rail anchor is applied gripping engagement with the rail irrespec tive of any slight movement which may take place between the rail anchor and rail that will tend to reduce the pressure of the shoulder 24 upon the rail edge 14.

It'will be apparent from the foregoing that the arcuate slightly resilient arm 21 extends laterally from the shank 15 in the direction of the on-coming traflic, and exerts a continuous gripping or holding action against the rail edge. The pressure of'the outer end of the tension arm 21 upon the rail edge will serve to act upon the shank 15 to exert a constant pull upon the same in a direction to hold the overhanging jaw 17 in firm gripping engagement with the rail base flange, thus maintaining the rail anchor in constant gripping engagement with the rail.

From the above description and accompan ing drawings, it will be seen that the shoulder 241- cooperates with the overhanging jaw 17 to prevent the rail anchor of the pres ent invention from being shifted diagonally of the rail to an appreciable degree under either the tie pressure or the reaction of the spring arm 21. This shoulder 24 serves also to facilitate the removal of the rail anchor from a rail and this removal is readily accomplished by striking upon the upper face 23 of the arm 21 in an inclined direction to force the shoulder 24 downwardly into engagement with the under face of the rail to thereby hold the shank l5 spaced somewhat from the bottom of the rail, whereupon one or more additional blows delivered to the upper face of the arm 21 will force this arm downwardly sufliciently to engage tie outer end of the arm with the under face of the rail base as shown in Fig. 6, whereupon the anchor may be readily removed by hand.

In some cases it may be desirable to increase the area of the flange engaging face 19 of the jaw 17 to increase the frictional engagement of this overhanging jaw with the rail base flange. This may be accomplished by distorting or displacing portions of the overhanging aw 17 in a lateral direction, as will be apparent from the modified construction of Fig. 9, wherein it will be seen that portions 26 of this jaw 17 have been displaced laterally at each side of the jaw to increase the width of the flange engaging face of the jaw.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the present rail anchor is extremely simple in construction and may be easily formed of sheet metal of desired thickness, and that the only operation required to convert the flat blank shown in Fig. 8 into a rail anchor is to bend the arm 21 laterally as shown in Fig. 5 and then temper the metal to give the entire rail anchor the desiredresilient properties. It will also be seen that this rail anchor can be readily applied to and removed from a rail without permanently distorting any portion thereof. The direction of the traffic over the rail is indicated row of Fig. 1.

As will be apparent, two factors function to prevent accidental disengagement of the anchor from the rail,- the first of which resides in the angularity of the upper jaws which differs in respect to the adjacent an gularity of the upper inclined portion of the rail base flange in a direction to exert an upward thrust of the spring arm 21 imparted to the latter through the connecting shank 15, and the second factor resides in the structural elements comprising the spring arm member 21 which, in the final positioning act, induces a tortional twist in the longitudinal axis of the shank or transverse connecting member 15, which, although released as the shoulder moves upwardly to its service position against the adjacent vertical rail base edge, functions nevertheless as a force upwardly directed by simply maintaining the normal position from which it was sprung temporarily, in the forcing of the rail anchor to its service position.

What is claimed is. V

1. A one-piece sheet-metal, rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend across the rail base to abut against the tie and having an overhanging aw at one end and a rail engaging arm of gradually increasing width at its opposite end all cut from a sheet of metal, the jaw being constructed to extend inwardly over the rail base to engage the inclined upper face of the rail base at a substantial distance from the rail base edge and hold the shank firmly against the rail base, and having the arm at the opposite end of the shank cut to provide the same with an upper surface that slopes upwardly to the outer end of the arm and the arm being bent laterally in the direction of the on-coming traflic and adapted to have its outer end portion sprung into firm abutting engagement with the rail base edge and held thereagainst in non-overhanging relation with the rail edge by said shank and jaw.

2. A one-piece sheet-metal rail anchor cut from a sheet of steel and comprising a shank adapted to extend across therail base to abut against a tie and provided at one end with an overhanging jaw adapted to extend inwardly a substantial distance over the rail base and having its rail engaging face inby the arolined slightly to the upper face of the rail base to engage the latter at a point sufiiciently inwardly from the rail base edge to hold the shank firmly against the lower face of the rail, and the shank being provided at its opposite end with an arm the upper surface of which is cut so that it slopes upwardly towards its outer end and the arm being bent laterally to extend in the direction of the on-coming traffic and adapted to be sprung into firm abutting engagement with the rail base edge and held in non-overhang- Q the shank in position to abut against the ing abutting relation therewith by the shank and overhanging jaw. I I

, -3-.-A'-'one piece rail anchorcomprising a shank adapted to extendacross the rail base v to abut against a'tieand provided at one end with a relatively "long; overhanging aw that extends inwardly over the rail base to engage theinclined upper face of the rail base at a substantial distance from the edge thereofoand adapted to. hold the shank firmly against the under face of the rail a shoulder upon. the shank in position to abut against the opposite rail ,edge'whenthe rail anchor is secured to the rail; an arm extending iateran from the shouldered end of-the shank in the direction of the on-coming traffic and having its upper surface cut so that it slopes upwardly slightly from said shoulder to its outer end and having its outer end positioned to be sprung into abutting engage ment with the edge of the rail base in nonoverlapping relation with its upper face.

4. A one-piece sheet-metal rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend across the rail base to form the tie engaging ele I ment and provided with an overhanging jaw constructed to engage the upper inclined face of the rail base at a substantial distance from the rail base edge to hold the shank firmly against the under face of the rail, an arm at the opposite end of the shank extending in the direction of the on-coming traffic and adapted to be sprunginto abutment with the edge of the rail and held from 7 moving downwardly by said overhanging jaw acting through the shank, and said jaw having a wavy configuration imparted thereto to displace portions of the jaw laterally in opposite directions to increase the area of its active face. r

5. A one-piece rail anchor comprising a shank adapted to extend across the rail base to abut against a tie and provided at oneend with a relatively long, overhanging jaw that extends inwardly over the rail base-to engage the lnclined upper face of the rail base at a substantial distance from the edge thereof and adapted to hold the shank firmly against the under face of the rail, a shoulder upon opposite rail edge when the'rail anchor is securedto the rail, an arm extending laterally from the shouldered end of the shank in the direction of the on-coming trafiic and having its upper surface cut to slope upwardly towards its outer end and having its outer end extending inwardly slightly beyond and above the shoulder to abut against the edge of the rail base in non-overlapping relation so that when the arm is sprung outwardly in applying the anchor to the rail the arm snaps upwardly and the spring stress of the arm causes the shoulder to bear against the rail edge.

6. A sheet metalblank cut to form a onepiece rail anchor and consisting "of .a. piece of sheet-stock having, approximately za' rectangularshapeewith one entire ,upper; portion cut away for morethan halfwof; the length of the blank; ther cutaway by astraight i cut extending lengthwise of the central portionxof the blank far enough to extend well underrthe re maining upper portion of the blank to form an overhanging jaw and a rail engagingsurr face adapted to abut aga nsttheunder face CHARLES e. ERIOSON.

and. the blank being fiurg 'llO 

